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holiday heart syndrome
Etiology:
- weekend or holiday binge drinking
Clinical manifestations:
- palpitations
- syncope, dyspnea on exertion, & angina in some patients (rapid ventricular response to atrial fibrillation)
Laboratory:
- serum electrolytes, especially serum potassium
Special laboratory:
- electrocardiogram
- supraventricular tachyarrhythmia
- atrial fibrillation
Radiology:
- echocardiography to assess chamber enlargement, LV wall motion abnormalities, LV hypertrophy, valvular heart disease, & systolic dysfunction
Differential diagnosis:
- even modest alcohol intake can trigger an episode of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
Management:
- generally resolves rapidly (within 24 hours) with spontaneous recovery with abstinence from alcohol use
- specific antiarrhythmic therapy is usually not indicated
- AV nodal blocking agent (beta-blocker, verapamil, diltiazem) may be needed if the ventricular rate is excessive
Related
atrial fibrillation (AF)
General
syndrome
References
- Budzikowski AS, Rottman JN
Medscape: Holiday Heart Syndrome
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/155050-overview